Filter bed cleaning



FILTER BED CLEANING Aug; 24, 1943.,

, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6 FIG. 3.

E 5 H o wgm TL 0 N w i S A WE L R mm C Aug. 24, 1943.

C. LOSE, JR

FILTER BED CLEANING Filed June 6 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5.

INVENTOR CHARLES LOSE JR.

BY g 24; ATTSEZEY Patented Aug. 24, 1943 zsz'iyzt UNITE-D STATES PATENT ()FFI'CE 2,327,726 i i J FILTER BED CLEANING Charles Lose, Jr., Cranium, N. .r. Applicationwlune 6, 194i), Serial No. 339,044

(or. 210-128) g 1-3 Claims.

This invention relates to filter bed cleaning as applied to filter beds of granular material such, for example, as sand, and more particularly to such cleaning by means of cleaners adapted to travel over the surfaces of said beds.

. Cleaning of granular filter beds by cleaners traveling thereover has been carried out by many different forms of cleaners but such cleaners have, in general, been suited for operation in one direction only and would not give such satisfactory results if moved in the opposite direction. The desirability of having a cleaner which. will operate equally well in opposite directions, arises more particularly in connection with the use of elongated filter beds which arerelatively narrow butmay beof considerable length.

An important object of the invention is to provide for the cleaning of granular filter beds in novel and advantageous manners. Another object of the invention is to provide novelfand advantageous forms of traveling filter bed clean-- ers. Another object is to provide noveliand. advantageous forms of traveling filter bed cleaners adapted to Work equilly well when used in opposite directions. Another object is to provide novel and advantageous forms of traveling filter bed cleaners in which parts may be positioned suitably for use in the direction of motion selected and, when the direction is to be reversed, certain parts are shiftedfor the purpose of maldng the cleaner'work in the same way as before. Another object of the invention is to provide a cleaner adapted to efiect thorough cleaning, substantially from end to end, of a relatively narrow elongated bed. A. further object of the invention is to provide a. traveling cleaner with two separate sets of cleaning de vices, and to use one set for removing and cleaning granular material from the lower part of the bed and the other for removing and cleaning granular material from the top ofithe bed.

According to an. approved manner of, carryout the invention, use may be made of cleaning means such as disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 329,026, filed April 11, 1940. In order that the cleaner of the present invention may be adapted for operation in opposite directions both traverse walls of the caisson, each of which serves as a front or rear wall depending upon the direction of themovement of the cleaner are provided at their lower edges with upwardly turned lips so as to ride over the filter bed material and, if necessary, press it down. It'may also be desirable to provide two scrapers, each one to smooth the bed back of the caisson when traveling in the corresponding direction and for raising and lowering. said scrapers with respect to said caissonso that the forwardscraper will be at a higher level than the rear scraper which engages the surface of the bed.

of. the tooth to settle Also, there are providedtwo sets of devices for lifting and cleaning the granular filter bed material. As. disclosed in saidcopending application, each of such lifting and cleaning devices may comprise a substantially straight tubular member or tooth extending upwardly from the lower part of the to a level above the surface of t'he bed, a baflle. at the lower end of said tooth to control the flow of material to the lower end of the hollow tooth a deflector at the top of thetooth tolturn downwardly the stream of material to cause the granular filter bed material, discharged from the upper. end againwon saidfilter bed. The teeth of the two sets are arranged to face in opposite directions so that with the cleaner moving in either direction the teeth of the rearward set will face in the direction of forward movement of said cleaner and the lower ends of the rearward set will be in the lower part of the filter bed.

At such times the teeth of the forward set willv face rearwardly and: will be in. raised position, either with their lower ends in theupper part of the filter brdYwhere they will. assistj'in cleaning the surface material, or above the surface. In order to. work in this way, the two sets otteeth may. be. separately supported and the raising. and lowering 10f the sets may be provided for in such a manner that the action. may

be effected automatically.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear upon consideration of the following detailed description and of the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of apparatus illustrating, one embodiment of the invention, the central part being broken away ,in order to show both ends;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the line 22 of Fig.1;

Fig, Bis a section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is -a section taken along the line ll of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section taken along line E's-510i Fig, 4; and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating electrical means forautomati'c control of the filter bed cleaning means.

Referring to the drawings,,there is illustrated an embodiment of the invention in the form of apparatus for the filtration of solid beari'ngliquids such as sewage. The apparatus includes an elongated filter tank or channel l0 divided by a filter bed H intoan upper influent-portion t2 and 'a lower eflluent portion l3 which receives the filtrate passing. downwardly through the filter bed. The filter bed II which is of granularma terial, such as. sand, may rest on a screen l l supported in any suitable man'ner. The elontion;

In many instances, it is desirable to use an the tank HJ through one or more openings 20 in the wall l6. Preferably there are a numberof inlet Openings 26 arranged at intervals along the separating wall IS. The tank It] has an end wall 2| which is extended to form. the end wall or" the influent channel I1, through which wall the duct [9 extends. At its other end the tank "I is provided with an end wall 22 which is also extended to form a Closed end wall of the influent channel ll. From the effluent channel l3 beneath the filter bed, the filtered efiluent may flow throughan outlet 23 at the bottom of wall 22 into a filtered effluent channel Mand eventually may pass over a weir 25 at the top of a wall 26, fall into the chamber 21, between said [wall 26 and an end Wall 28 of the apparatus, and then be discharged from said chamber 21 through aduct 29, to any desired location. The height of the weir 25assists in determining the height of liquid in the filter channel In required to force liquid downwardly'through the-filter'bed I Lj The filtrate is always in contact with the bottom sur'-- face of the filterbed which may be considered as immersed between the infiuent and the filtrate. Y

In order to keep. the filter bed i l in continuous operation, it isnecessary to clean the granular material, such as sand, whenever the bed becomes contaminated or clogged to such afdegree as to resist the passage of liquid and cause the liquid'level to rise undulyin the filter channel ll.. I-Ieretofore such cleaning has been attained in many forms of filter channels or tanks by the use of filter bed cleaners traveling over the top of the filter bed and cleaning the sand or other granular materialin various ways. However, the cleaners heretofore'in usehave been more efiective while working in one direction only; and it has been found convenient in many'cases to provide endless filter bed channels so that the filter bedcleaners could always travel in one direcelongated and narrow filter bed such as illustrated in the drawings, and the filter bed cleaners which are adapted to. work in one direction only are not particularly well adapted for cleaning a filter bed of. the general shape referredto.

The present invention affords a solution of this problem, the cleaning of the filter bed being effected by means of a traveling cleaner 3!] suscf the teeth of the raised set extend into the pended from a truck 3| provided with wheels 32 arranged to rest on rails 33 on the tops ofwalls l5 and I6. Preferablycorresponding wheels 32 are fixed .on theopposite endsof axles 34 and at least one of these axles may be motor driven from-a motor 35 mounted on the truck 3!. The motor 35acting through a speed reducer 35 may operate on a pulley 31 and through an endless flexible driving member 38; such as chain or belt, may actuate a pulley 39'on the driven axle 34 and drive the same. It will be evident that when the" motor 35 is operated, the truck 3! will travel along the rails 33. Motor 35 may bereversed. Thecleaner 30 comprises a caisson or chamber 40 having an open bottom engaging the filter bed II at its uppersurface. This caisson may correspond closely to caissonsof certain prior 2,327,726 s filter bed cleaners. In view of the fact that the I caisson is intended to travel in both directions, it is provided at both end walls 4! with members 42 which have upwardly turned lips 43 so that when one of these is at the head of the cleaner it will ride over and depress any granular material or waste solids projecting above the normal liquid level. Said lips 43 may be raised above the normal level of the upper surface of the bed to givea slight clearance. The cleaner also com-' I prises side walls 44 which extend downwardly into the material of the filter bed H.

' Asillustrated the sand or other granular material, within the limits of the caisson is cleaned by means including two transversely extending sets of teeth 55 of the type shown in said copend- 1 ing application Serial No; 329,026. As disclosedtaken from the bed, carried upwardly through the teeth for cleaning purposes, and turned downwardly above the top of the tooth by means of a deflector 46 whereby the sand may be directed downwardly to settleon the upper surface of the filterbed. The upward movement of the sand through each tooth may be effected by fiuid such as water supplied under pressure to an upwardly turned jet 41in the tooth. The means for supplying the fluid under pressure to the jet or nozzle 41 will be described hereinafter. Each of the teeth is also supplied at its lower end witha rearwardly'extendingbaflle 48. Inasmuch as, when thecl'eaner is moving in one direction, one set of teeth is to be down and the other up and'these positions are reversed when the cleaner 7 moves in the opposite direction, the baffles of I to the rear. The other set of teeth is raised atv this time and may beraised completely abovethe.

filter bed. Preferably, however, the lower ends upper part of the filter bed and tend to effect a cleaning action of the said at that level. It will be seen that the baffles of the raised'teeth extend forwardly. In order to obtain the best results, the teeth in one set are staggered with respect to the teeth in the other set. The dirty or wash water containing the impurities collected from the cleaned sand or other granular material rises to thetop of the caisson and fiows through one or more I openings 49 in the front and rear walls thereof into the upper parts of chambers 59 from.

which the dirty water or wash water is withdrawn and discharged, preferably into a channel 5! in the top of the ,wall is. From the channel 5| thedirty water may be passed to any suitable location but preferably is returned to the incoming sewage. Obviously the chambers 56 might be located inside the caisson instead of outside as illustrated, Q

" The fluid or liquid supplied to the jets it of each set of teethfi5 comes through a set of sub- Y stantially vertical pipes or ducts 52 which are connected at their lower ends with the jets or nozzles ll byany suitable means and are connected at their upper ends to a manifold 53 ex tending across the filter bed channel and guided for substantially vertical 'upward movement by substantially vertical guides '54 at the inner sides of. the: side walls- 44 of: the caisson til: and extending into suitable grooves formed in the ends of the manifold; The pipes depending. from the manifold 53 may serve to support the corre' sponding teeth 15-.

The liquid. tobe supplied. to the two manifolds may be drawn from: a: channel. 55: receiving filtered liquid. from the channel at and. pass through a pipe: 5% havirrgone end: projecting downwardly into the filtered water 55 arid carried over the top of an; inner: wall: a? of this channel and thendow-irwardly and upwardly to a: pump 5.8 which forces the liquid. through connections including flexible hose members into the manifolds Preferabiy the pump t8 may be suspended from the truck 31 and operated by a motor 6% through an impeller shaft (not shown).

Dirty water or wash water may be withdrawn from each of chambers or: compartments 5i! by'mean of a pump iii connected at its inlet with a duct which in turn. is ccm'iectedv by two branches E33. witha' corresponding. chamber 53 so as to draw the liquid from the chamber at two spaced locations.

From the pump, is discharged through a duct or'pipe Shinto the channel 5! on. top of the wall. it and may discharged from this channel 5i through an outlet fi5cz(F-ig.; 1).. The pump'sfil are suspended from oppositeends of. the truck or carr 3i and are drivenl by corresponding motors G1: mounted on thetruck.

Raising. and lowering of the manifol-dsht and the sets of teeth" it supported therehy may be effected through links or, two for each. manifold as to which; the" lower ends of the lirrlrsfa pivote'd' near opposite. ends thereof'.. Raising and lowering of the manifolds through the links ill may be effected. by means including eccentrics 88 mounted on a transverseshaft iel supported out the truck: Ill operated hack and forth through a range of' 180 by means inciudirig a motor-"ll? and speed reducing mcarrs'il' interposed between the motor and the shaft (i9. eccentrics 68 are enclosed in straps '82 at tl'i upper ends of the links. 67, the eccentrics of'the two sets being set 180" apart so that when one manifold is raised, the other is lowered; The links fill may pass through suitable openin s it in aplate i closing the topof the chamber t l.

Inasmuch as the cleaners. cannot he worked effectively up close to the end walls 21. and f2 of" the filter bed channel, the screen. it supporting the filter bed ll maynot be carried to the end walls of the channel but to the lower edges of sloping portions '35 of the concrete or other structure extending upwardly from tho'ends of the screen to the vertical portions of the end wall (Fig. 1). Although thousand is not cleaned up to an incline lit by the cleaner as it towarcs that end of the tank, it is cleaned to a much greater extent when. the teeth. as which were raised during such movement of the cleanerarc lowered and the other set raised. After this shift the cleaning will take place comparatively close to the inclined portion l5.

In traveling in either direction, the teeth projecting downwardly from the cleaner tend. to pile up the sand in front thereof and there should be some provision of means for smoothing down the sand during the movement of the cleaner away therefrom. To this end use may he made of devices or scrapers it such as shown in Figure 4. It.

is necessary, however, to have the forward scraper 1 6 raised and the rearward scraper l5 lowered as iii) thezcleaner' moves: along the channel. To obtain the desired. result, eachiscraper' 76 maybe" attachedto the: lower ends of downwardly extend.- ing armsrfl of vbent levers i3 of which. other-arms 'llv overlie the. top of the caisson and-are pivoted to the set of links 61 remote from. the corresponding scraper 16. Intermediate the'ends of eacharm 19, such arm is pivoted to the upper end of a link 80: pivoted-at its lower end to a suitable bracket on the top of. the caisson.

Thus when theamanifold at: the forward side of the caisson is raised, the scraper l6 at' the rear side ofithe cleaner will be loweredand will act to smooth out. the material back" of the cleaner. When the cleaner has reached one end or its path as: indicated in Fig. 4, the forward scraper 16 will'be in raised position and the rear scraper T6. will be. in lowered position and has served to smooth out the sand. left in irregular condition after the passage of'the cleaner. When the positions of the manifolds are changed, the left hand scraperlfi will be lowered and will serv to move displaced materialiback over the screen supportingthe filter bed. I i

It will be evident that movement of the caisson tends to" build up a wave in the liquid particw larly as thecaisson approaches the end walls. Consequently there would be a-tendency to produce surges of liquid back and forth between the caisson and the end walls. In order-to avoid such surges the end openings 26 may be of greater'size than the intermediate openings (Fig. 4).

All of the instrumentalities described can be controlled manually but preferably they are con-- trolled electrically through a. system which will now be described. For convenience parts. which are thrown into use when the carriage is started to the right ar marked R and corresponding parts in use in starting tothe left are marked L and one-wayfmovement may be marked by a single-headed arrow, while reversibility may be indicated by double ended arrows.

Electric power'for operating the various motors and controlling certain switches may be taken from conductors 8r supported on brackets as but insulated therefrom, the brackets being supported on any suitable means such as the outer wallof thewash water channel 5|. In contact with the twoconduetors M are spring contacts 533 carried on but insulated from a bracket so projecting from the truck M. The springs 83 may be connected with suitable conductors 85 and 36 provided with a double switch 31 whereby a current through said conductors may be made or broken as described.

When the apparatus is entirely out of operation, switch 81' will be opened but during ordinary operationof the apparatus switch 81 will be kept closed. From conductor 85 inside the switch 8'. there extends a branch 8% having therein a switch 88 which may be used to start and stop the apparatus when it is desired to control the action of the cleaner independently of an automatic control to be described hereinafter; as for example when an excessive flow of sewage keeps the level'too high even in the event that the bed is relatively clean. As indicated in Fig. 6, the cleaner Si] is at the left end of the filter tanlr. Near the end of this movement a switch-controlling. member 90, mounted on the truck, has been shifted: by engagement of a roller 9! thereon with a fixed member or cam 92 (Fig. 5) at the left endcof the filter channel and serving as a limit stop. Such shifting or forcing back of the member or rod on may be efiected against the action of a spring '93 and serves to open a switch 94 and stop motor 35'andclose a'switch 95 to prepare for reversal of motor 35. At the opposite or right hand end of the tank is a second controlling member or cam 92 which, when the trucl: reaches the right hand end of theitank, acts on a roller 9| and forces back a rod 90 to open another switch 94 and closes'another switch 95. When, however, the truck is at the left end of the tank the right hand switch 04 will be closed and the right hand switch 95 will be open.

In view of the fact that much of the electrical apparatus is duplicated, parts which are in duplicats will hereinafter be distinguished from each other, when necessary, by referring to them as left hand members or right hand members in accordance with their arrangement on Fig. 4. a

The manually controlled switch 89 is normally closed, and when the'liquid is at an excessive height above the filter bed; .current may pass from the left hand or positive conductor 85 through branch 88 to a conductor 96, which is connected through the righthand closed switch 94 to a switch 91 of which the circuit closing member 98 is controlled by the height of .water in the filter bed channel, being shifted to circuit closing position by rise of the water above a predetermined level. If th level in the filterbed channel rises too high due 'tothe' cloggingof the filter bed, the contact making member 98 will be swung, by means to be described hereinafter, into a position to close switch 97. This switch 51 is one which may be effective when the truck is at the left hand end of the tank. There is also a corresponding right hand switch 91. these switchesare closed each time the level in the filter bed channel rises above a predetermined level. As illustrated, the two switch closing mem bers 98 may be connected by a link 99 which is moved to open or close the switches by means of a link I pivoted theretonear the center thereof and connected with a fioat IOI which, as it rises and falls with the level of the liquid in the filter bed channel, closes and opens both switches 91.

From the left hand switch 91, the current passes through a, conductor I03 to the left hand switch 95 which is closed atthis time. The current then passes through a conductorIIM to a terminal I at one end of a coil I00-of a solenoid I01. through the coil I06 to the terminal I03 at the other end of the coil; and from there through a conductor I09 to a terminal or contact II 0 of a switch III and from the terminal'IIO through a conductor H2 to the negative conductor 05. The coil I06 being thus energized, shifts a member or rod H3 and closes not only switch III by shifting a member I I 3 but also closes a switch H5 connected at one side with coilterminal I05 by line H6 and at the other side, through a conductor Ill, with the conductor 95, thus assuring energization of the solenoid even when current through conductor I04 is shut off by opening the left hand switch 95. The shifting of the member or rod I I3 by energizingthe solenoid I01 also closes a switch H8 and a switch H9. The closing of the switch II8, one terminal of which is connected with the terminal I I0 of the switch I I I and the other terminal of which is connected through a conductor I and a conductor I2 I with the driving motor 35 so that closing of the switches H8 and I I9 causes current to flow from the positive conductor 85 through a conductor I22, closed switch H9, conductors I23, I24 and I25 to the motor and from the motor through Both of From the conductor I04 the current passes I conductors I2I, I20, closed switch H8 and conductor II2 to the negative conductor 86, thus starting the driving motor 35 in a direction to move the truck and the cleaner from the left end of the tank to the right end thereof.

Current supplied through the conductor I24 also passes to a conductor I26 which supplies power to the motor 60 for the jet pump 51 and to the motors 66 from the wash Water pumps BI.

From these motors the current passes through conductors I27 and I28, the closed switch .III and conductor II2 to the negative line 86. Cur-v rent from the positive conductor 85 passesv through the conductor I22, closed switch I I0 and conductor I23 as well as conductor I29 through the manifold raising and lowering motor 10 and from the motor through right hand closed switch I30 and conductor I3I to the line I20 and through the closed switch IIB, terminal H0, and conductor I I 2 to the negative conductor 85.

Actuation of the motor I0 in this way acts to turn the shaft 69 through 180, thereby liftingv right hand manifold 53 and lowering left-hand Lifting of the right hand manifold 53 (Fig. i). manifold tends to open right hand switch I30 and lowering of the left hand manifold tends to close left hand switch I 30, the adjustments being such that the motor will move back and forth through a range of 180. control of these switches may be effected by rods 32 projecting upwardly from the manifolds and adapted when a. manifold 53 is raised to open the corresponding switch I30 and when lowered permit the closing of such switch I30.

Actuation of the driving motor 35 to drive the cleaner and truck to the right causes wheel 9| to ride off the end of cam 92, thus permitting spring 93 to close switch 94 and open switch 95.

This will break the circuit through conductor I04 and the solenoid coil I00 but due to the connection through switch I I5 and conductor I H, the solenoid will remain energized. The breaking of the circuit through switch 95 will also prevent the passage of current through the corresponding switch 91 but will not affect the operation in any other way because the left hand switches 95 and, 91 are of service only in starting the cleaner in its travel toward the right hand end of the tank. The closing of left hand switch 94 will have no effect at this time inasmuch as right hand switch is open at this time.

The cleaner will then be driven to the right such condition as to causethe cleaner to move to the left end of the tank while effecting cleaning of the filter bed. If, however, the filter bed has been sufficiently cleaned to permit the float IOI to sink far enough to open the switches 91, the starting circuit through which the right hand solenoid I0! is energized, cannot be closed and the apparatus will stop. If the switches 97 are closed at this time, the solenoid will be energized through the right hand switch 91 and the apparatus will work substantially as before except that the right hand solenoid I01 will be the one It Will be evident that, by use of the rest a As indicated in Fig.6,

the system in exactly the same way as before but with different devices in use, the same operations will be carried out in the leftward movement or travel of the cleaner, as in the rightward movement of the cleaner..

It should be understood that various features maybe changed and that certain features may be used without others, without departing from the true spirit and scope ofv the invention.

WhatIclaim is: 1 L x n l :l. A filter bed cleaner adapted for movement in either of two opposite directions over a'filter bed of granular material immersed between the influent liquid and the filtrate, comprising, a caisson having at its bottom. an open mouth close tothe surface-of said bed,.me-ans carried by said cleaner for cleaning the material beneath .the caissondurin movement of the cleaner in either of said opposite directions, reversible means for driving .said cleaner in. said opposite directions, two scrapers carriedlby said cleaner at opposite ends of "the caisson and: spaced therefrom, .the scraperjat the front of the caisson in its movement in either directionrbeing raised above the top of the filter bed and the scraper. at the rear being in lowered position to smooth the bed behind the caisson and means controlled byesaid reversible means when 'itreversesito lowerithe raised. scraper to effective positionand to raise the lowered-scraper toai'neffectiveposition.

. 2. A filter bed cleaner adapted for movement in either of two-oppositedirectionsoven a filter bed of granular material immersed between the .influent liquid and the filtrate, comprisingra caissonv having at its'bottom. an open-mouthv close to the, surface of said bed, means carried .by: said cleanerior cleaningthe material'beneath the caisson during; movement of the cleaner in either direction, two scrapers carried by said cleaner'iat opposite ends of the caisson and spaced .itherefrom-the scr peratthe front of thecaisson in its ;movement..in either direction being raised above thetop of the filter bed and the scrape'rlat the rearbeing in lowered .positionto engage the bed: behind the caisson, reversible" means for driving said cleaner in opposite directions,smeans controlled by said reversible means. for changing theroperation ofsuch cleaning means in: accordance with the direction of movement of the cleaner, andmeans controlled. by saidreversible meanswhenit reverses to lower the raisedscraper to effective position i .and to .raise "the lowered scraper torinefiectiv'eposition. l 3

.3.,A filter bed 'cleaneradapted for travel over a filter .bed 'of granular material immersed between the influent liquid and the filtrate, comprising acaisson. having an open bottom close to "said bed and cleaning means carried iby said cleaner to clean the material beneath saidcaisson, :said cleaning means including two rows of hollow teeth arranged transversely oi -the pathof travelof the cleaner andimeans for passing granular material from the filter bed upwardly through .said teeth and discharging it in said caisson above the uppersurface of the bed, means for supporting the teeth of the forward" row position with their lower ends in the upper part of the-bed and for supportingtheteeth "of'the rearwardrow with their lower ends in'the lower part of the bed.

4. A filter bed cleaner adapted for travel over a filter bed of granular material immersed between the influent liquid and the filtrate, comprising a caisson having an open bottom close to said bed and cleaning means carried by said cleaner to cleanv thematerial beneath said caisson, said cleaning means'including two rows of hollow teeth arranged transversely of the path of travel of the cleaner, means for passing granular material from the filter bed upwardly through said teeth and discharging itin said caisson above the-upper surface of the bed meansfor supporting the, teeth of the forwardrow in position. with their lower ends in the upper part of the bed and means \for supporting the teeth of the rearward row with'the lower ends of the teeth in the lower part of the bed, and means for lowering the raised teeth and raising the lowered teeth to enable like operationof the cleaner inthe opposite direction. 1 7

7,5 A filter bed cleaner adaptedfor travel over a filter bed of granular material immersed between the infiuent liquid and the filtrate, comprising a caisson having an openbottom close to said bed and cleaning means. carried by said cleaner to clean the material beneath said caisson, said cleaning means including two rows of hollow teetharranged transversely ofzthe path of travel of the cleaner andhaving at thelowerends of'itheteeth bafiles extending in opposite directions :50 that the battles of the lowered set will extend rearwardly and those of the raised set forwardly, means for passing granular material from the filter bed upwardly through said teeth and discharging itsin'said caisson above the upper surface of the bed, means for supporting'the teeth of the forward row with their'lower ends in the upperrpart ofithe bed and means for supporting theteeth ,ofthe rearward row with their lower 'ends in part of theflbed and means for lowering the raised-teeth and raising the lowered teethto enable likeoperation of the cleanerin the opposite direction.

6. A filterzbed cleaner adapted for travelover a filter .hedcf granular materialimmersed between .the influent liquid-andthefiltrate, comprising acaissonhaving an openbottombcloseto said bed and cleaning means carried by said cleaner to clean the material'lbeneathsaid.caisson, ,saidicleaningmeans including two rows of ihollow teeth arranged transversely of the path of travel of the cleaner, upwardly turned nozzles in the lower parts of ,said teeth, the teeth of the forward row'beingin anelevated position-toitake granular materialfromthe upper part of the filter bed and the teeth of the .rearwardrow being in a loweripTosition, .two pressure-manifolds from which the teeth are supported havingends slidably, mounted at the inside of the caisson, pipes extendingto each of said nozzles iromthezcorrespending manifold, and means for raising. and loweringthemanifolds to raise and :lower the corresponding sets of teeth to enable like operation in the opposite direction.

7. A filter'bed cleaner adapted: for travel over. a filter; bed ofgranular material immersed between the infiuent liquid'and the filtrate, comprising a caissonhaving anopen bottom closeto said bed and means for cleaning-the surface layer of'the bed-beneaththecaisson including a set of hollow teeth arranged transverselyof the path of. movement oi the cleaner andhaving their lower ends projecting into the upper: partzof. saidxbed, means -projecting forwardly fromthe lower ends of said teeth to loosen the material in'thelayer to be cleaned, means for cleaning the surface material by passing it up through said teeth and discharging it above said bed and means for discharging dirty liquid from said caisson.

' avoiding surges of the liquid.

8. In filtration apparatus, the combination of a filter tank containing a filter bed supported by a screen, and a reciprocable cleaner comprising a reciprocable caisson with. an open bottom above said bed and hollow teeth extending downwardly from the caisson into saidbed and. spaced inwardly from the front and rear of the caisson, said filter tank having end walls with lower portions inclined upwardly and outwardly from the ends of saidscreen to enable the ends of the caisson to pass beyond the ends of the screen to enable the. hollow teeth to move to substantially the ends of the screen.

9. In filtration apparatus, the combination of an elongated tank having in its lower part a granular filter bed immersed between the infiuent and the filtrate, the end walls of the tank havin inwardly and downwardly inclined portions at the level of the filter bed and somewhat above the same to renderxthe eifective length of the filter bed less than that of the tank to enable cleaning of the bottom of the filter bed substantially from end to. end of said bottom, a filter bed cleaner movable back and forth over said bedfrom end to end of the tank, scrapers at the front and the rear of said cleaner connected with the cleaner andspaced from the ends thereof, and means controlled by-the direction of movement of the cleaner to hold the following scraper in-lowered position to draw back material piled up on the corresponding inclined portion and level the bed beyond the cleaner and to hold the leading scraper raised until the cleaner reaches the end of its path and then to raise the lowered scraper and the raisedscraper to carry any accumulation of waste material on the adjacent inclined portion to a point where the Waste material will be taken up by the cleaner and to level the filter bed back of said cleaner. V

10. The combination with an elongated tank having. at the bottom thereof a granular filter bed immersed between the infiuent and the filtrate, and in usual tank a filter bed cleaner travelingfrom end to end of said tank would tend to build up a wave as it'approaches the ends of the tank, of means for supplying infiuentto said tank including an influent channel:' at one side of the tank separated therefrom by a side wall of the tank and connected with the interior of the tank by a pluralityof openings through said wall, the openings at the tank ends being larger than the others .to enable liquid in any piled up Wave to passfreely into the infiuent channel, thus 11. In apparatus for cleaning a granular filter bed at the bottom of an elongated tank, a cleaner movable from end to end of said tank and comprising an open-bottom caisson movable over the surface of said bed, two sets of hollow cleaning teeth extending transversely of the tank and projecting downwardly fromsaid caisson into said granular bed, means for cleaning said granular material by passing it upwardly through said teeth and discharging it on the upper surface of said bed,isaid teeth being arranged in one way for movement of the cleaner in one direction with the leading set up and the trailing set down and vice versa for movement in the opposite direction, means for starting the cleaner at either end of the tank when the liquid over the filter bed is higher than a predtermined level and stopping the cleaner at either end of the tank if. the liquid over the filterbed is below the predetermined level, .and means rendered effective when the cleaner changes direction at the end of the tank to change the arrangement .of said teeth accordingly. 1

12. In apparatus for cleaning a granular filter bed at the bottom ofan elongated tank, a, filter bed cleaner movable from end to end of said tank and comprising an open-bottomedcaisson movable over the surface of saidbed, two sets of hollow teeth arranged transversely of the tank and projecting downwardly from the interior .of the caisson, means for moving one-set of saidzteeth upwardly to position the lower ends of the teeth in the upper part of the bed for movement of the cleaner with this set in leadin position, and the other set downwardly for trailing movement, to position the lower ends in the lower parts of the bed, means for passing granular material from the bed upwardly through said teeth and discharging it on the surface of the bed in cleaned condition, means for discharging dirty water from said caisson, means for driving the cleaner from end to end of the tank in either direction,

and then stopping, and float-controlled means effective when the liquid level is above a predetermined level to start the caisson from its position at one end of the tank toward the other end, to shift the sets of hollow teeth by raising the forward setiand lowerin the rearward. set, to

start the cleaning of granular material by passing it upwardly. through said teeth, and to start removal of dirty liquid from said caisson.

13.. In apparatus .for cleaning a granularv filter I bed at thebottom of an elongated tank, acleaner movable from end to end of the tank and comprising an open-bottomed caisson withits bottom. close tothe bed, two fluid pressure manifolds in said caisson extending transversely of thetank and connected for upward and downwardmovementlin opposite directions, a row of hollow teeth projecting downwardly from each of saidmanifolds; an upwardly directed. nozzletin each of said teeth, a connection to each'of said nozzles from the corresponding manifold, means including a'motor. for operating theicon'nection between said manifolds to effect simultaneous loweringof one of said manifolds'for trailing movement and lifting ofthe other for leading movement, a reversible motor for operating said cleaner in opposite directions, motor operated pumping means for discharging. dirty .water from the caisson, electrical meansfor. controllingithe operation of said motor operated means including starting circuits each controlled by two switches, one closedonly when the carriage is'on one end of. its. path and the other'closed only) whenthe liquid level over. the filter bed. is-too high, two operating circuits each closed by the corresponding starting circuits when the carriage is; at the proper end of the tank and opened byv movement to the other end of the tank, branch circuits for operating the pressure" pump; motor and, the discharge pumpmotors irrespective of the direction of the cleaner movement,- and-means rendered efiectiveby movement'of amanifold to a. limiting position for shutting off the mani- I fold shifting motor.

' CHARLESHULOSE, R, I 

